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15 new COVID-19 deaths are the most in one day so far in Delaware

DOVER — On the last day of April, Delaware stood at 5,015 coronavirus cases and 159 deaths. Now, 286 Delawareans have passed away from the virus, including 15 announced Saturday, the most for a single day so far.

As of 6 p.m. Friday, the state had seen 7,547 total cases, according to the Division of Public Health.

Two hundred fifty people were hospitalized from COVID-19 in Delaware, the smallest number since April 18. Fifty were critically ill.

In total, 3,367 Delawareans had recovered, meaning they’ve gone a week without symptoms.

Delaware’s first official coronavirus case was announced March 11. There were 6,467 cases and 221 deaths one week ago.

As of April 17, four weeks before the latest data, there were 2,493 cases and 61 deaths.

About .79 percent of Delawareans, or 79 people for every 10,000 residents, have tested positive for the virus.

Despite the uptick in deaths, there have been positive signs, including a decline in new hospital admissions and percentage of tests that come back positive. The state is moving toward reopening, allowing some businesses to operate with strict limits, while the beaches are set to open May 22. More restrictions will be lifted June 1.

The virus continues to pummel Sussex County, which has 24 percent of the state’s population but 48 percent of its COVID-19 case.

Sussex has seen 3,658 total cases and 112 deaths, while 2,667 New Castle County residents have caught the virus and 121 have died. There have been 1,176 cases and 52 deaths involving Kent County.

The addresses for 46 people with the virus, including one who died, have not yet been identified.

The outbreak has been particularly severe in the greater Georgetown area, with 5.2 percent of people in the 19947 ZIP code testing positive.

The most recent deaths involved nine women and six men ranging in age from 50 to 92. Seven lived in New Castle, four lived in Kent and four in Sussex.

Nine individuals were residents of long-term care facilities, a classification that covers almost two-thirds of the deceased Delawareans.

Fifty-six of the 286 people who died had no underlying health conditions, including five of the most recent.

In addition to county of residence, the coronavirus totals can be broken down by age, sex and race.

Statewide, Delawareans who have had confirmed cases range in age from less than a year old to 103, with deaths involving people from 21 to 103, according to DPH. Two hundred twenty-nine deaths occurred in individuals 65 or older, with just 14 involving people younger than 50.

There have been 4,126 cases and 150 deaths involving females and 3,397 cases and 136 deaths involving males. Twenty-four cases have involved people of currently unknown sex.

By race, there have been 2,075 cases and 172 deaths involving non-Hispanic whites, 2,067 cases and 68 deaths involving non-Hispanic blacks, 2,063 cases and 21 deaths involving Hispanics or Latinos, 113 cases and one death involving Asians or Pacific Islanders and 405 cases and three deaths involving people from another race or multiple races. In 824 instances and 21 deaths, race is unknown.

Adjusted for population size, whites in Delaware are more than seven times less likely than Hispanics and three times less likely than blacks to have COVID-19. However, although whites, blacks and Hispanics each represent a little more than a quarter of the coronavirus cases here, whites make up 60 percent of deaths, while Hispanics account for just 7 percent.

According to DPH, there have been 39,758 tests so far, although that figure is preliminary and does not include an unknown number of results that are pending.

DPH has stopped offering information on specific deaths and is providing updated statistics on nursing home cases only on Fridays.

Based on guidance from the federal government, Delaware is counting deaths of individuals with laboratory-confirmed cases and people who had symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and exposed but never tested.

Because of volume, the hospitalization and critically ill numbers now include non-Delawareans, although all other totals are just Delaware residents, according to DPH.

As usual, the agency did not release additional details about the cases Saturday, citing health privacy laws.

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